how to weigh at weighbridge...van plate unreadable

4512 Views 10 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Mrplodd, Jun 21, 2009

riverboat2001

Discussion Starter · Jun 5, 2009

Hi All,

I understand that i need to take the van to a weighbridge, and that gives me the total weight, then do the front and back axle.

So first off, when i go to weigh it do i have full waste/fuel/water tanks?

The plate on the side is unreadable, and AutoTrail can't offer any help due to the van's age. It's a 1993 Autotrail Mohawk.

And how do i know how much i can carry?

According to the logbook the revenue weight is 3100kg gross

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tinkering

· #2 · Jun 5, 2009

weighing

Hi riverboat.

If you look at your vans registration certificate,left hand side under vehicle details

A reg mark
B date of reg
B1 ditto
D1 make
D2 model ie BOXER 320 MWB

Now if you have the vehicle makers hand book find the dimension chart for your models chaise
This will tell you all you need to know.

Hope this helps

Take care Les :wink:

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tinkering

· #3 · Jun 5, 2009

weighting

Sorry,

Take the van to the weighbridge with full water tank, Empty waste tank and all the gear food /clothes etc that you would take with you on say a weeks trip

Les :wink:

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riverboat2001

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 6, 2009

I believe i do have all the handbooks and paperwork that came with the van originally.

But i am still rather stuck.

The model on the logbook says:

Ducato 14 Dies Turbo.

Now in the Fiat Ducato manual, in the weights section, there are two pages of different combinations with varying weights.

If i discount any that say van/combi/minibus and truck, then i can get it down to 9 that mention chassis.

They all say Max Front Axle Weight 1500KG
Max Rear Axle Weight 1700KG
Total Permissible Weight 3100KG
And Towing Weight 1500KG

The only diffence between any of them is the Kerb Weight......
is this difference important?

So if Im going on total permissable weight, am i right in assuming that means passengers,luggage,dogs,food,full tanks etc?

And if we get to the weighbridge and find we're OVER the limit, do we just go home and weigh each item we decide to take off, until we have removed the amount that we were over by?

I think originally we were going to do it the long winded way, take it down there with just the driver, and full tanks, then weigh stuff as we added it!

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b16duv

· #5 · Jun 6, 2009

Riverboat,

Follow this link and download the guide by Sprokit by following the link HERE

Weigh it as per the guide but make sure that you, your normal passenger complement and all the stuff you take on holiday are in the van in their normal places.

If either axle is over the plated weight, you must remove items above that axle to get the weight on that axle down to the correct level.

If you are below Gross weight, then try moving items around inside van until correct weight distribution is achieved.

Hope this helps

D

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oldun

· #6 · Jun 20, 2009

I cannot see how weighing the van will help the op with the weight limits for his van.

The plate tells him the maximum weights he can legally carry.

The weighbridge tells him the actual weight of the van.

How are these two things connected?

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b16duv

· #7 · Jun 20, 2009

oldun said:
I cannot see how weighing the van will help the op with the weight limits for his van.

The plate tells him the maximum weights he can legally carry.

The weighbridge tells him the actual weight of the van.

How are these two things connected?

Oldun, the two are connected -

The maximum weights he can legally carry are shown on his registration document (and for the moment we must assume that this is correct and matches the illegible plate).

The weighbridge tells him the actual weight of the van, thus it is either above or below (or the same as, unlikely) the weight on his V5.

By weighing the van fully laden he can determine whether he is 'legal' or not iro Gross Vehicle weight.

Riverboat has researched the possible configurations for his van and concluded that the front axle should not exceed 1500kg, the rear 1700kg and the gross 3100kg. This corresponds with the V5 assertion of 3100kg revenue weight.

Adding the two gross axle weights permitted gives 3200kg, thus there is a loading tolerance of 100kg between the axles.

If Riverboat weighs each axle at the weighbridge (in accordance with Sprokits excellent article), he can determine whether he is above or below the maximum permitted axle weight that he has concluded from his research.

Thus the 'two' are connected and will allow him to determine whether his use of the vehicle is compliant or not in terms of weights), assuming that his conclusions are correct.

However.

There is a legal requirement for a legible plate to be affixed to the vehicle, and he should attempt to obtain a replacement plate and have it affixed in the appropriate place.

Perhaps SVTech could help LINK

HTH

David

PS, Riverboat, the kerbweight is not relevant to your needs iro weighing the vehicle.

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riverboat2001

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 20, 2009

b16duv said:
However.

There is a legal requirement for a legible plate to be affixed to the vehicle, and he should attempt to obtain a replacement plate and have it affixed in the appropriate place.

Perhaps SVTech could help LINK

HTH

David

Yikes, the bit about the van having a readable plate is a bit worrying, i was totally unaware of this?

Could i just write the figures in with permament marker?

What are the Police like in respect of motorhomes, as i find different attitudes depending on whether i'm riding my motorbike or car.

Sharon

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b16duv

· #9 · Jun 20, 2009

Sharon,

Firstly, writing on the plate isn't a good idea - it may look like you are trying to hide something.

As for police/vosa attitude, I can't say as I have never been stopped in motorhome. On the few occasions I have been stopped in truck or car, I have found them reasonable providing I have also been reasonable.

The likelyhood of your being stopped is probably very low - the big issue would be if you were involved in an accident and they started to investigate....

Short-term, collate all the documents you have referring to the vehicle and its weights, go to a weighbridge with the van loaded for holidays (including passengers that would normally travel), water (if you run with water in the tank), full tank of fuel etc. Get a printout from the weighbridge showing gross weight and each axle weight, and keep this in the van.

Long-term, contact SVTech and see if they can provide the weight data from the VIN number (this is on the registration document) and supply a replacement plate. They will charge for this, but you will need to ask them how much.

The information in your seond post seems to be a reasonable set of figures for your vehicle, so in the meantime, try and stick to them.

If you can show (if you are stopped) that you are doing everything possible to comply legally, then its likely that you will be given the benefit of the doubt - if nothing else it saves their paperwork!

Above all, don't panic as it can be sorted!

David

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oldun

· #10 · Jun 21, 2009

b16duv said:
oldun said:

I cannot see how weighing the van will help the op with the weight limits for his van.

The plate tells him the maximum weights he can legally carry.

The weighbridge tells him the actual weight of the van.

How are these two things connected?

Click to expand...

Oldun, the two are connected -

The maximum weights he can legally carry are shown on his registration document (and for the moment we must assume that this is correct and matches the illegible plate).

The weighbridge tells him the actual weight of the van, thus it is either above or below (or the same as, unlikely) the weight on his V5.

By weighing the van fully laden he can determine whether he is 'legal' or not iro Gross Vehicle weight.

Riverboat has researched the possible configurations for his van and concluded that the front axle should not exceed 1500kg, the rear 1700kg and the gross 3100kg. This corresponds with the V5 assertion of 3100kg revenue weight.

Adding the two gross axle weights permitted gives 3200kg, thus there is a loading tolerance of 100kg between the axles.

If Riverboat weighs each axle at the weighbridge (in accordance with Sprokits excellent article), he can determine whether he is above or below the maximum permitted axle weight that he has concluded from his research.

Thus the 'two' are connected and will allow him to determine whether his use of the vehicle is compliant or not in terms of weights), assuming that his conclusions are correct.

However.

There is a legal requirement for a legible plate to be affixed to the vehicle, and he should attempt to obtain a replacement plate and have it affixed in the appropriate place.

David

Sorry I must have explained myself badly. I agree with everything you say.

My point was that the weighbridge cannot determine what are the legal weights of the MH. That is why I said they are not connected

It is however very important to know if the actual weights to see if in fact your are legal.

I have weighed my motorhome in the partially loaded state - as it will be for short trips around the UK - and in the fully loaded state - as it will be when i go on much longer trips in the UK and abroad.

One thing that interests me is that in both cases the front axle loading is almost the same (about 40 kg different) but the back axle loads changes dramatically. I suppose this just goes to show that almost all the extra loading is close to or behind the rear axle.

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Mrplodd

· #11 · Jun 21, 2009

Check under the bonnet

There should be another plate (it may well be the same colour as the rest of the bodywork so it might not be glaringly obvious !!) in a fairly visible location with various numbers stamped in.

The higheste number is the TRAIN weight (the max weight of van + any trailer)
The next highest will be your vans Max permissable weight

Of the other two the first number will be your FRONT axle max permitted and the next one down will be you REAR axle max weight.

If you are unsure or would like a bit more help ring me 07812 933724

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